Pirelli, These Are The Challenges Of Zandvoort

Zandvoort, 06 June 2024 | 09:50 Europe/Amsterdam PIRELLI, THESE ARE THE CHALLENGES OF ZANDVOORT Banking and high loads are the most difficult aspects of the track, along with variable grip because of its seaside location The DTM heads for Zandvoort for the third round of the 2024 season, which has seen four different winners from the four races to date at Oschersleben and Lausitz. The Dutch track is notoriously one of the most, if not the most, demanding of the whole Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series, because of its unusual configuration and its location among the dunes on the North Sea coast.Tyres are one of the components that come in for the hardest time at Zandvoort, both under traction and when cornering. In fact, the tyres are subjected to high vertical and lateral loads, because of the high speed corners and the banking at turns 3 and 14, with an angle of 19 and 18 degrees respectively. At these points, the gradient produces the opposite effect on vertical and lateral downforce which has an impact on the tyres and on the overall performance of the cars, which therefore requires a specific set-up.In effect, the steep banking lightens the lateral load, with a subsequent increase in cornering speeds, but at the same time, the vertical load on the tyres is increased significantly, putting their construction under stress, even at the same speed and aerodynamic load.Furthermore, the Zandvoort track offers variable levels of grip because of the large quantity of sand and sea salt that accumulates on the surface. These conditions call for a flexible car set-up to allow for rapid adjustment to changes in the track surface, while always generating the best grip possible.PIRELLI QUOTEMatteo Braga, Pirelli Circuit Activities manager: “Our advice in cases like this is to always pay careful attention to the operating pressures, both at the start and after the obligatory pit stop. Using the tyres in the correct operating window is vital to make the most of their characteristics, in the warm-up phase as well when racing so as to achieve the best balance between performance, degradation and warm-up times. Actually, we already saw last year that the versatility of the P Zero DHF ensured performance and reliability even on such a demanding track as this, where one always witnesses interesting and spectacular racing.”